grape escapes - the bordeaux wine tour specialist
GRAPE ESCAPES – BESPOKE INDEPENDENT WINE TASTING TOURS
Wine Tasting Tours, Holidays and Trips
Grape Escapes is a specialist European wine tour operator, offering a broad range of wine tasting tours and trips to the vineyards in the main French wine regions: Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Rhône and The Loire and selected regions in Spain and Italy.
In addition to the scheduled tours that we organise, we assist individual travellers to plan independent trips, such as honeymoons, wedding anniversary tours, birthday celebrations, or other special holidays.
We have assessed many of the hotels, restaurants, wineries and other activity providers in the regions and have selected only the best so you can be certain that there will not be any nasty surprises when you arrive. If you want to have your ideal trip without any stress, talk to us. We can prepare private, bespoke itineraries for any budget from £800 to £20,000 per trip. We will discuss your requirements with you in detail and send you a draft proposal and can then arrange everything including booking your hotel and travel, sending you maps, city plans, restaurant and vineyard recommendations and an itinerary so that your trip goes smoothly.
We recently arranged a bespoke trip to the Ribera Del Duero for Jane and Tony, a couple who wanted to taste some Spanish wine. Here is what they did:
Upon arrival at Valladolid airport, a chauffeur escorted them to a 5* spa hotel in Quintanilla de Onesimo, where they checked into a luxurious Junior Suite. After settling in at the hotel and freshening up, they were taken on a tour of the hotel’s winery, where they tasted several Ribera Del Duero wines. A relaxing vinotherapy spa treatment was then arranged for them in the hotel’s spa, before a gourmet five course dinner was served at the hotel’s restaurant, accompanied by more wines from the region.
On day two, after a Mediterranean breakfast, Jane and Tony were met at the hotel by a knowledgeable local guide, who accompanied them on a tour of the region in her luxury mpv. First stop was a new, modern winery that has been designed as a “monastery of science and technology.” Here, our guests were given a full tour, and saw for themselves the full winemaking process, including the malolactical fermentation process and the aging of the wine in French, Hungarian or American oak barrels in a stunning barrel room which holds 4000 barrels. The tour concluded with tastings of the bodega’s wines.
The tour continued with a second visit to a different style of winery. Here, they began their tour in the vineyard, where they studied in depth the vines. In this unique tour, our guests had the opportunity to look inside a sliced barrel to learn about the importance of oxygen and the pore size of the wood, as well as how the wine ages and develops. Another exclusive feature of this winery is the spectacular light show that is projected through the cellars. After discovering the winemaking techniques that produce the bodega’s premium smooth, fruity wines, they tasted three wines, which differed from those tasted earlier.
A gourmet three course lunch in a top restaurant in Peñafiel was then served. Each course was accompanied by a local wine, and our guests had the opportunity to taste the region’s speciality, “lechazo asada.” This leg of suckling lamb is roasted in a traditional stone oven until deliciously crispy.
Ending the day in style, the final visit was to the impressive Portia winery, which was designed by the famous British architects, Foster and Partners. This is the only winery that is above ground level, where tractors can drive up to the roof to deposit the grapes from the top. The winery’s transparent features include large windows and a glass-encased viewing deck, which allow visitors to see as much as possible. After a full tour of this unique establishment, Jane and Tony tasted all three of Portia’s wines, and a selection of other wines from the Faustino group, which are popular choices from the wine lists of Spain’s Michelin starred restaurants.
After returning to the hotel, our guests enjoyed dinner at another highly regarded restaurant.
The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, Jane and Tony checked out of their hotel and explored the quaint town of Peñafiel before being escorted back to Valladolid airport.
For a quotation for your bespoke trip, please call us on 08456 430860 or e-mail us at info@grapeescapes.net.